I got a 03 zx6rr and anyway everytime i have my suspension soft ( about 70 percent) the bike feels unstable at speeds 45 +... the front wheel almost feels like it wants to shake... Is it that they are not ment to have soft suspension, or is my steering jacked up? I also noticed it riding a lot rougher compared to my friends 03 cbr600, but that might be the way hondas ride

 

i was wondering how old the suspension is..i know the bike is like 5 years old but is the suspension as well? if not how long ago has the suspension been replaced??? it could be that ur suspension could be getting old and might either need to be rebuilt, maintence done (likee redo the fork oil..etc.)...

sorry to ask but how much do u weight because that is a factor in how soft you can go before you feel such things....

it could be because of how old your bike is that it might just need to be stiffer because the suspension is older...

another thing to ponder about is if you should think of switching out suspension...i mean if it is pretty old suspension doesn't last forever....you might need new springs or might just need something small like the fork oil changed out...or it could be something big like you need the entire fork rebuilt...

furthermore, to give you a better understanding most of your bike in the feeling and riding comfortablity is mostly by suspension....the steering isn't what is causing the problem....steering is when you put the front and rear on paddocks and then you check your steering alighnment...your steering is like the triple clamp...etc...

now it could be you went to soft like it took to long to rebound or compress...the whole idea behind getting your suspension straight is to make sure that your tire is getting the best traction to the ground as possible to allow for better handling...people might go softer than stock if they are lighter than 150lbs or they like to have it alittle softer...softer means that it loosens up the compression damping and rebound and let the bike take longer to both compress and rebound....making it stiffer means it comes back faster on both...the problem is that you don't want it to come back to fast or too slow....so i suggest that you research your bike and learning how to dial in suspension...also might want to suggest a rebuild of the forks if they are looking old or replacing the springs if they are shot....which would show in if the suspension will make bad handling...

on my bike i have a problem where it feels like i turn in to a corner but my wheel feels like it is flat...a more of a steering issue....i bought a steering dampner to help that out...sometimes buying a steering dampner will help with low corner turns and such...just a suggestion


but mostly for your problem i would have to say check your service manual and look up proper way to take your fork apart...and worse case senario you have gained the knowledge of taking your forks apart and furthermore have probably had to replace the fork oil...which doesn't hurt...

another thing to make sure of is the rear shock...because some symptoms that might come from the front end can come from the rear...

good luck with getting it fixed...

 

I only weigh 175lbs. I know some people mess with the preload but i have not touched that yet... the forks doesn't look in bad condition, but you cant really tell how the insides look by the outside... the bike is just below 5k miles on it. Ill shouldn't cost too much for new oil for the forks so ill probably play with that

 

First thing you should do is set the preload to get the sag right for your weight. You should be looking for 30 to 35MM of sag front and rear.

Hereare a few links for setting up suspension. Got any specific questions, drop me a PM....

http://www.racetech.com/articles/Sus...AndSprings.htm

http://www.ntnoa.org/suspension_preload.htm

This one is great!
http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0402_susp/index.html

 

It souldnt be unstable at low speeds and the 03 ZX6R and ZX6RR stock suspensions were too stiff even at the softest settings. They were race ready. You should check the alignment of the wheels, forks and wheel balance. Was the bike ever wrecked. If you decide to take apart /work on the forks, you will need special tools. For a fork oil change you will need a oil level syringe.

 

sigh, yes it was in a accident from the previous owner but by the looks everything is straight, it was only feeling unstable when the settings were loose; i took it on the innerstate and did not feel comfortable at all, but now that i stiffened the suspension to near 90 percent of hardest, it feels fine... as for alignment, my rear wheel does not line up with the tick marks on the back, as in the left side is not equal to the right side... they were fine at first but i needed to tighten my chain, and when i did my right side never pulled in, so there is a small gap (1 or 2 mm)... but i thought that it should just pull in